


Scream

by larryshipgoeson



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Evil, Nogitsune Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 04:49:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3314603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larryshipgoeson/pseuds/larryshipgoeson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles is not okay. Not himself. Unstoppable. Insatiable.</p><p>trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFInPM2bNqU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"You can't be a fox and a wolf." Stiles said as Lydia helped him stay on his feet.  


"Change the host." said the Nogitsune with fear flooding his eyes as Scott reached from behind and bit him into his arm. Nogitsune screamed in terror and Kira drove her katana through his chest. He went down, on his knees, looking even more pale than Stiles at the moment. Hopeful looks started to appear on everyone faces.  


Then Nogitsune looked up.  


"Have you not listened to me at all?" He asked, standing up, looking at them both disgusted and entertained. "As I said," he went on, "I'm a thousand years old. Do you think noone has ever tried to change me? And you," the Nogitune said turning to Kira, "I guess your little sword isn't that powerful anymore, is it?"  


Kira started backing very slowly as panic and confusion filled every cell in her body. Before Scott could procces what happened, the Nogitsune violently took the katana from Kira and knocked her down on the floor. Scott run after him, but before he could do anything, he felt himself flying across the hall right into the lockers, painfully landing on the floor.  


The Nogitsune smiled and started getting closer and closer to Stiles and Lydia, with them having nowhere else to hide. All his attention was directed toward Lydia as he approached her and caressed her chin. Her eyes started to water and her mouth opened, but nothing came out.  


"Oh, Lydia, beautiful Lydia," he said while getting even closer, their faces almost touching, "my sweet, precious Lydia."  


She tried to stay brave, but tears started to stream down her face and she started to shake with fear.  


"Why are you so afraid, when you know noone's gonna die, Lydia? We both know you are not going to scream today."  


Everyone felt a bit of a relief, but they still had no idea what is going to happen next.  


Meanwhile Scott managed to get back on his feet and shouted through the hall: "Are you sure you are not going to die after all?" The fear in his voice was noticable, but he tried to stay as calm as possible.  


The Nogitsune didn't do anything but smile. It was a smile so hateful Lydia couldn't get over the fact that it looked like her best friend. He turned to Scott and Kira, who was slowly waking up and trying to get back on her feet, when three shadows started to morph into Onis in front of their eyes.  


"You forgot I have a few friends here too." The Nogitsune said.  


As the fight began, Scott and Kira got distracted, trying very hard to defeat at least one of the Onis, but failing so far without the needed silver and Kira not having the katana in her hands.

The Nogitsune used the moment to get to Stiles, who was resting against the wall, looking and feeling worse with every minute passed.

The Onis dissapeared suddenly and Scott and Kira were finally able to catch their breath. They looked around the room to find Lydia sitting on her knees, her glass eyes looking through everything in front of her as they realize it too.

The Nogitsune dissapeared and took Stiles with him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Why not?", Lydia screamed, with traces of hysteria in her voice.

By that time, almost everyone got there. Scott, Lydia and Kira joined by Malia and Isaac in Scott's room.

Scott took Lydia's hands, trying to comfort her a bit as he started: "We cannot tell him, not yet, not until we figure out what to do. He just got his son back, what would it do to him if he found out he is gone again?"

Lydia understood what Scott meant, maybe he is alright after all and it would only upset sheriff Stilinski, she tought.

"And where the hell is Derek?" Scott continued.

Malia was spending some time around her newly found Hale family, so she reported: "He said he couldn't come right now, it's about some Kate, do you know who that could be?"

Scott stopped and for a second he couldn't believe what was just said. He haven't heard this name in a long time and wasn't expecting to hear it anytime soon either. And as much as he wanted to find out more and knew it wasn't Derek's fault he wasn't there with them, he couldn't care about that right now. All his attention had to be directed towards finding Stiles. He wasn't very sure what to do, so he started thinking out loud.

"So, we know the Nogitsune took Stiles and probably Kira's katana as he took it from her hands and it was nowhere to be found after the fight."

"You mean the one that was supposed to kill him but didn't leave a scratch?" Malia noted ironically.

Everyone looked at her angrily, in that moment Stiles would be the one to stop her or say something in her defense. Any different time they understood she wasn't human for too long, but this was too serious.

"Why would he take the sword if it wouldn't do anything to him?" Isaac finally joined the conversation after a moment of silence.

"Well, to be honest, I have no idea." Kira answered.

Malia looked like she wanted to say something again, but stopped herself this time. Scott started to seem impatient, but how could he not, his best friend was kidnapped by an evil spirit that already got to him once before and now Stiles was probably getting weaker as they spoke.

Lydia managed to calm down to the state she could think again. "What about all the places?" she said.

Noone knew what she meant, but they also knew if they gave her a moment, she would explain what she meant. She didn't look very good, her eyes were almost empty, the only thing that could be found in her look was fear and everyone knew this time it wasn't because of her powers.

"We know about the places. Where the Nogitsune followed Stiles, what places he put in his head." she finished slowly.

"She's right, the Nogitsune could have taken him to one of those places." Isaac agreed.

"Ok." Scott noted. He was extremely unsure of everything but at least they had some plan. "So, me and Kira will check the school and hospital and the rest, would you mind going to the Eichen House?" He finished.

Lydia agreed, altough she wasn't very happy she should be going with Malia, she knew they needed her because she spent some time in the asylum.

\---------------------------------

As Lydia, Isaac and Malia got closer to the Eichen House, they realized they can't just storm into a mental institution looking for their friend and his evil twin.

"I think you two should take care of a distraction and I will go look around." Malia suggested.

"I don't think separating is a good idea, could be dangerous." Lydia opposed.

"Don't worry, you will stay with Isaac and I know every inch of this building, if something gets wrong I will get out. You two go talk to the receptionist and we'll meet in the front of the main entrance in an hour, what do you think?"

Lydia was surprised Malia talked to her as if she was trying to protect her but then she thought it's probably just because she didn't want them to be together the whole time.

"I'm fine with that." Isaac mumbled.

Noone exactly knew why Isaac was still with them, but the bet was on him trying to get his mind off of Allison. The two of them went to talk to the worker as Malia inconspicuously parted away from them.

She was mainly heading for the basement, but also checked Stiles' old patient room just to be sure. Nothing to find there, as expected, so she went back to her primary task. She got to the huge empty room. It was a bit chilly and so quiet she could hear her heart beating.

\------------------------------------

Stiles woke up in his own bed. He had no memory of how he got there and he felt relieved until he saw the Nogitsune sitting in a chair next to the bed, waiting for Stiles to come to his senses. He was so weak he couldn't scream or move too much, which might be the reason his hand weren't tied and there was no tape over his mouth. He looked at the Nogitsune just to see a twisted picture of himself, which undescribably terrified him but also intrigued him in some sick way.

"Where are we?" said Stiles more to himself than as a question, but he got the answer anyway.

"Don't worry, Stiles, this really is your room."

"Why?" was all he was able to stutter at the moment.

"Well, let's see. Your father didn't even bother to come home after you disappeared and your friends are running god knows where not caring much."

Stiles knew none of that was true, but he was curious where his friends could be and why they are not there.

"You are gonna die, Stiles." He didn't know if this one was true but he was too tired to care. As long as noone else gets hurt because of him.

"Well, maybe you won't. If you let me in again. It wasn't very clever of you to seperate the two of us, was it?" Nogitsune asked mockingly.

Stiles cought himself thinking that if he didn't let Scott get to him in his mind he would be more powerful than ever. Than any of his friends. He shook those ideas out of his head very quickly. He sat on the bed carefully and tried to look as normal as he could at the moment, but he felt as if he was about to break into million pieces. Then he got it.

"The bite might have not killed you, but if I die you will get weaker and weaker too, that's why you need me, isn't it?" he said very slowly, feeling as if he just ran a marathon after saying this short sentence.

"That doesn't change a thing, Stiles."

"I'd rather die than let you kill more innocent people." Stiles said heavily.

"Then it shouldn't be a problem." The Nogitsune said with his usual confidence and despite. "Let me take you some place special."

\------------------------------------

It could have been about twenty minutes since the group split up and Malia was all alone in the cold basement. She heard the door close, but didn't make anything out of it as it was probably a draft. She properly checked every corner but Stiles was nowhere to be found. She then turned around and went back when she found someone sitting next to the closed door.

"Hello?" she said fearlessly.

All she heard back was deep breathing and quiet whispering.

"Stiles!" she immediately assumed and run to him.

She helped him stand up and hugged him tight. He put his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder. After they stopped hugging she went to hold his hands as he grabbed her and pushed her against the wall. Before she could catch on what is happening she was handcuffed to an old pipe. The Nogitsune was laughing in her face.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" he said when the real Stiles emerged from around the corner, this time handcuffed as well with a tape over his mouth. The Nogitsune ripped the tape off and uncuffed him.

"Do you remember the last time we were here, Stiles?" He continued. "That day could be our little anniversary! It was the day you let me in. The day Malia lived. I guess history does repeat itself, doesn't it?"

Stiles couldn't believe it was happening again but even more he couldn't believe what he was about to hear.

"Do it. Please Stiles, do it." He thought she was just trying to save herself, then she went on: "If you don't do it you're gonna die, this way you will get some time and we will figure it out!"

She had a point. And it was not about Stiles only, Malia's life was in danger because of him again. The Nogitsune stood by, listening to them. He didn't have to do anything at all, Malia did it all for him naively thinking they could be saved. Stiles got closer to her and grabbed her hand.

"I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry." She didn't know if he was talking about being weak or about hurting more people, but she was certainly hoping for the latter option.

"It's okay." she said calmly and kissed him.

\----------------------------------

Because there was nothing else to search for them Lydia and Isaac were already waiting outside. They still had some time left, when Lydia suddenly stood up and looking very scared whispered: "Something's wrong."

"What are you talking about?" Isaac asked.

"Stiles." she said and everything stopped.

"The basement. I think Malia is in danger." she went on fearfully.

Isaac urgently texted Scott and Kira, who were already on their way to meet them after their part of the search being unsuccessful.

Malia pulled her lips away, tears forming in her eyes.

"I love you." She whispered.

After a long look into her eyes he said: "You gave your heart to Stiles. You really did."

It was too late. The one controlling his body wasn't Stiles anymore. Malia didn't know what to expect next so she tried to hold on the previous moment as long as she could, when she felt a dull pain.

\-------------------------------

Isaac and Lydia, now reunited with Scott and Kira, ran as fast as they could to get straight to the basement. Thanks to their powers Isaac and Scott got there first to find the door stuck. They kicked it open and rushed into the room.

Stiles was there standing with his hand buried in Malia's chest. She was crying silently. In a split of a second, Lydia, who was still running through the hall, started screaming so loud everyone had to cover their ears. Everyone except Malia, who was becoming unaware of what's happening, and the Nogitsune possesing Stiles again. She finally got into the room to see him pulling his blood covered hand out of Malia's body holding her heart as her look emptied and she fell to the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The heart let out few beats as the drops of blood run down the Nogitsune's hand and finally dropped on the floor with a sound that felt as heavy as a thunder at the moment. Lydia stopped screaming. Everyone run towards Malia, who was not moving, when she breathed out but didn't breathe in again. 

"No." Lydia said silently and started sobbing.

"Malia!" Scott shouted and shook her shoulders as if she was just unconcious and supposed to wake up with a little help. He went on for some time not letting go of the idea of Malia leaving with them by her own. But not this time.

"Scott, stop." Isaac said.

He was probably the most clear-minded person there at the moment even though it brought back some unwanted memories of Allison.

"There's nothing you can do."

Scott admitted to himself Isaac was right and there was no way to change it. Malia had a hole in her chest and she was killed by Stiles' hands. He knew it wasn't the real Stiles, but he was in there and knew about everything that was happening.

Scott realized the Nogitsune was gone. They had nothing and they lost Malia. The person Stiles loved. They were supposed to help him but this will destroy him.

"He's tearing us apart and taking throphies." Lydia broke the silence.

Noone replied. Kira was kneeling in front of Malia, looking at her, not being able to say or do anything. Despite noone letting it be seen, everyone got hit by a wave of fear and hopelessness. Scott knew that as an Alpha he has to do or at least say something to make them feel safe, but there were no words running through his mind but one.

Death. It was cycling around them quite a lot in the last few days but it never actually hit until now. He didn't know what to do, but he knew they couldn't stay there.

"We have to take her body and go." he said.

"Where?" asked Isaac.

"I don't know, but we cannot stay here and we are not leaving her here."

Scott was determined to take her with them, she was part of the pack. He thought about who they could go to and he immediately ruled out Derek's place, because Peter could be there and that would not end well. He didn't want to go to his home either, his mom would be there and he didn't want her to see this, it was hard enough for her already with all the supernatural in their lives. The only option left was Stiles' dad. He was a sheriff so he might help them and it was time to tell him what was going out, as it started to be really dangerous.

It was getting late and sheriff Stilinski wasn't home yet, but they knew were the spare key was hidden, so they let themeselves in. Scott took Malia in his arms and carried her into the house, laying her on Stiles' bed.

They just sat around her quietly for a while when they heard the door open. The sheriff got home, took his jacket off and put his bag down before he went for Stiles' room to check on him.

"Stiles, are you home?" he shouted.

Scott appeared in the hallway, coming out of Stiles' room.

"Hi Scott, didn't know you'd be here, how are you guys doing?" sheriff asked.

"Mr. Stilinski, Stiles isn't here." Scott responded.

"Where is he?" The sheriff's look changed from tired to slightly terrified.

"Something happened." Scott finished and turned around to enter the room everyone else waited in.

When sheriff saw Malia lying on the bed wearing a shirt covered in blood, he run to her and started shaking her shoulders.

"What happened? Why didn't you take her to the hospital but here? We have to go to hospital!" he yelled at Scott, who brokenly answered:

"It's too late. He killed her. He ripped her heart out. We didn't know where else to take her."

"Scott, what are you talking about. Who killed her? What is happening?" The sheriff asked very confused.

Lydia joined the conversation. "It's Stiles. He got to him again. The plan didn't work and he took him and got into his head again. We have to save him. We have to."

Mr. Stilinski sat down and all he said was: "No."

It sounded broken. Father losing his son to evil for the second time. He took a little while to breath and then started asked: "What are we going to do?"

Noone knew what they should do, but they knew they had to win. They had to get Stiles back. It would kill Mr. Stilinski to lose him for good. Even though they didn't have a plan, Scott tried to sound as convincing as possible for the sake of all of them.

"We will figure it out, we had separated them once before so we can do it again."

"I can ask my mom and go over some books, maybe I will find something, what do you think?" Kira suggested. It was the best she could do at the moment.

"And what about the body?" Isaac said.

He got some hurtful looks, but he was just being realistic.

"It's gonna sound insensitive, but I think the best thing is to call Melissa and put Malia's body in morgue for now." The sheriff responded.

It wasn't much, but at least everyone got to do something. Mr. Stilinski and Scott took care of Malia and the rest was going to go to Kira's parents and try to get some answers.

\------------------------------------------

Kira came home with Lydia and Isaac and explained the whole situation to her parents, hoping they would know what to do.

Kira's mom looked very worried as she started: "I don't understand how come the sword didn't kill him. I am afraid if we try to separate the Nogitsune for the second time, it will kill the host. There is also no evidence of how much of Stiles is left. We have to find a way to destroy him even if Stiles is still in there. I am sorry, but it is too late for him."

That was not what they wanted to hear at all.

Lydia couldn't keep quiet anymore and almost screamed: "No. We will get Stiles back. There has to be another way. We are not killing him!"

Everyone understood her frustration and Kira's mom tried to calm her down. "If it makes you feel better, we will try and search for an option to save Stiles some other way. But I want you to keep on your minds that the main task is to eliminate the threat."

They were all relieved a bit for the help they were getting but they still took what she told them and knew it wasn't going to be easy this time. In the corner of their minds they knew it could end badly for their friend.


	4. Chapter 4

It was quiet for a few days so everyone used the time to go through every single book there was that could suggest anything that would save their friend, hoping he was still in there somewhere. They had no luck so far, everything they found was already tried and disproved. It was quite suspicious that the Nogitsune wasn't seen for so long and uncomfortable waves of doubt hit them from time to time, but they tried to stay as focused as possible. They had to do everything they could, for Malia.

"We need to work with what we know." Scott tried to calm everyone down and get ahead of the situation.

"But what do we know?" Lydia opposed.

She seemed very pesimistic lately, which wasn't like her, but Scott let her be, the ability to sense death must have taken its toll in some way, he thought. It couldn't have been easy for any of them, but Lydia had it the hardest with her consuming powers and strong feelings towards Stiles.

"Let's start with what we did last time." Scott continued.

"Letharia Vulpina." Isaac mumbled, being pretty much overseen until now.

"Right. We know it weakens the Nogitsune for a while." Lydia said with her voice broken.

That didn't give them much, but at least they weren't going through the same books in a room full of nothing but silence and hopelessness.

"Good, we can use that as a first step." Scott suggested.

"Wouldn't it be a little predictable?" Isaac asked with a pinch of irony in his voice.

"Maybe, but maybe he wouldn't think we would do it again." Kira entered the conversation, getting where Scott was going.

"Maybe." Lydia noted, not sounding very convinced.

"We are going to find a solution and we will save Stiles, don't worry." Scott began to comfort her, trying to believe it himself as they were, very slowly, but finally getting further.

"I think I will go see if my mom came up with anything and help her with research." Kira offered.

"Good idea, I will go see Stiles' dad and tell him what we are up to."

"Why do you bring sheriff Stilinski into this?" Isaac asked quite uncomfortably.

"I don't think it's a good idea to keep anything from him anymore. It's his son and being a sheriff he might help us if needed."

Quiet moment came after Scott's argument, because they all knew that the 'if needed' meant danger they couldn't handle by themselves anymore.

"Okay." Isaac ruptured the silence. "Me and Lydia will stay here and wait." Waiting was the last thing they were able to do, but there was really no point in going though the books they already had and there was nothing for them to do at the moment.

\-----------------------------

Mrs. Yukimura was still at work when Kira got home so she made herself comfortable in front of the library and started going through the books. She went on unsuccessfully for a while when she heard the door open and her mom finally got there.

"What happened here?" she asked curiously instead of a greeting.

With books and Kira's stuff laying everywhere it did look as if either someone tried to rob their house or a bomb went off.

"Hi, sorry, I was just looking if there is any book that would say something about the Nogitsune we might not know yet." Kira said apologetically.

"Dear Kira," her mom started with heavy heart, "we need to talk about this."

Kira was afraid of what was about to come and wanted to hear none of it.

"But you said you would help us. You said you would look everywhere to find another way to save him. You promised!" she started, almost yelling, as if she was trying to put those words into her's mom mouth.

"I did, Kira. I tried. I looked everywhere I could, but there was nothing. I honestly thought the katana would work. It is the only weapon that can defeat him known to me." Mrs. Yukimura defended herself. 

"No." Kira expected something like this, but actually hearing it was something entirely different. "We have to do something. I can't let Scott's best friend just die." she said, putting all the fear and despair into the last word.

"I know. I really tried and I am very sorry, but there is nothing I can do now." Kira's mom said, but it sounded to Kira like there was something else and she wasn't mistaken. "Kira, you cannot let him hurt people."

Of course she would never let that happen intentionally, but she didn't know what to do. It was Stiles. 

"Mom, I can't just kill him. Stiles is Scott's best friend. He's my friend too." Kira's eyes watered as this was very hard to talk about.

"I know, but promise me," Mrs. Yukimura started, as she got closer to Kira and grabed her hand, "promise me, that if you see he is about to hurt someone who can't protect themselves, you'll do something. Anything, you don't have to kill him, but you cannot let him play with innocent people. Promise me you'll stop him no matter what." she insisted.

Kira knew her mom meant well, she couldn't eliminate the threat, not when the threat was taking a form of their friend, but she also wouldn't let anyone be hurt or even worse, so she started to understand where her mom was going from.

"I promise, but you promise me you will not stop looking just yet." Kira said

"Fair enough." her mom answered and closed the discussion on this topic.

They talked about other things, the usual stuff, Mrs. Yukimura trying for Kira to forget all the nightmares coming to life at least for a moment.

Her phone rang, the screen showing Scott's name.

"Hi." she started.

"Kira, I need you to get to school as soon as possible." Scott sounded urgently.

"I am on my way, what is happening?" she asked trying to find out what she should prepare herself for.

"He is here."


	5. Chapter 5

Scott left the group and went to see Stiles' father. He got to the police station fast, but was told that the sheriff wasn't available. He asked where he was and the officers didn't want to tell him at first, but deputy Parrish knew who Scott was and told him that he was somewhere near the school taking care of work bussiness. He called his number and after a while sheriff picked up.

"Hi, Mr. Stilinski, I'm sorry to bother you at work, but I heard you were somewhere near the school, do you think we could meet?" Scott politely asked.

"Ok, I'm almost done anyway, I'll wait at school's parking lot, is something going on?" Sheriff was a little worried.

"Nothing much, just want to give you a heads up." Scott answered.

"Okay, I'll wait here. See you." Mr. Stilinski finished and hang up.

\--------------------------

Scott could have been there faster than anyone else, but he took his time as he didn't want to tell Stiles' dad that there might be no way to save his son. Scott wasn't the one to give up hope, but they had no solid leads on what to do about Stiles.

He still got to the parking lot pretty fast, but the sheriff was impatient. As soon as he got a glimpse of Scott he got out of the car and went to meet him.

"What took you so long? What is happening?" The sheriff asked, eager and also scared to hear the answer.

"There is nothing going on right now, I just wanted to tell you that we haven't found anything yet." Scott said.

"That's it? You could've told me that over the phone." Sheriff got confused.

"The thing is," Scott continued, "we haven't found anything, but we looked everywhere."

He was hoping that the sheriff would understand what he meant, because he didn't want to say it out loud.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean?" Mr. Stilinski asked, even though he was quite sure he knew, but didn't want to think about it or say it either.

"I promise you, I will do everything I can, but as of right now, we have nothing." Scott was filling his sentences with empty words, but he knew it was time to get to the point. "I just need you to prepare yourself that there might be a possibility there is no way to save him."

It almost didn't sound real, they always found a way out of everything.

"There has to be something." Mr. Stilinski sounded broken-hearted, not wanting to believe Scott wouldn't think they'd make it, but he knew it was a long time since he saw his son and that there might be a possibility he wouldn't again.

They stood there quiet for a while, just trying to process everything that was said. It wasn't a long conversation, but it was an uneasy one, to admit they are losing hope even without saying it exactly like this.

"I'm sorry, we are doing everything we can, we are looking everywhere." Scott tried to soothe them both by saying this.

Sheriff couldn't bring himself to answer, he just sighed heavily and turned around to go to his car, Scott following him.

As they walked slowly towards the car, they heard something beeping. Scott checked his phone, thinking it might be running out of battery, but sheriff Stilinski stopped.

"What?" Scott asked uncertainly.

He looked at his phone, which didn't show anything, when he realized the beeping wasn't loud enough to be coming from his pocket. It wasn't too quiet either, so it had to be somewhere pretty close and it started to get on his nerves.

"Can you please turn it off, Mr. Stilinski?" He almost commanded impatiently. He really just wanted to go home.

"Scott, I think you hear it closer than it really is." The sheriff said.

It might be true, as he was really tired and his powers could've been affected by that, but he didn't really pay attention to it anymore and sped up walking towards the car. The sheriff haven't moved from the spot he stopped at a moment before. He looked in front of himself as he saw Scott getting to his car and he realized what was making the sound.

"Scott, get out of there!" Mr.Stilinski yelled as loud as he could, running towards the car to get Scott, who heard him and even though he didn't know what was going on, he instinctively listened to him.

He stepped out of the car as a sharp light blinded them both followed by a massive sound of explosion and a shockwave that threw them both several metres away.

\-----------------------------

The sheriff was laying on the ground, trying to wrap his head around what happened. He looked around, seeing his police car on fire and Scott laying nearby.

"Guess you haven't done everything and looked everywhere as I had to make a visit, have you?" A known voice said despitefully to them as a silhouette started to take shape in front of the burning car. 

"Stiles." His dad said, sounding even more broken than ever before.

"Nope." The Nogitsune answered, turning his attention to him.

Scott was laying near the car. He was conscious, but didn't feel very well, as he was very close to the center of the explosion the moment it went off. He took the advantage of the Nogitsune not paying attention to him and took his phone out. It was fortunately still kind of working and he called the number he had on speed dial, belonging to Kira.

"Hi." She started.

"Kira, I need you to get to school as soon as possible." Scott sounded urgently.

"I am on my way, what is happening?" She asked trying to find out what she should prepare herself for.

"He is here." That was all Scott got to say before his phone died.

\-----------------------

Kira got really scared by how Scott sounded and immediately headed for school. As she made her way to a car her parents gave her, she texted others to get there as fast as possible too and then stepped on the gas herself.

\--------------------------

Even though Scott could heal quickly, he was burned and injured pretty badly so all he could do at the moment was lay on the ground to regain at least some of his strength as he was very close to losing consciousness.

The Nogitsune continued making his way towards the sheriff, helping him stand. He didn't really want to be touched by the evil spirit wearing his son's body, but also was too weak not to use all the help he was getting. He was facing the Nogitsune now, who did nothing but smiled. For a split second the sheriff thought it was a sincere and in some way sad smile, but it turned into a contemptuous laughter in no time.

Mr. Stilinski backed down a few steps.

"What's wrong, dad?" The Nogitsune said with a tone so despitful it couldn't hurt Mr. Stilinski more.

"Don't you ever call me that." He answered, trying to sound brave and looking straight into the empty eyes staring right back at him.

The Nogitsune suddenly looked away and his strong stand weakened for a bit, as he started to tilt to one side, falling on one knee, when the sheriff instinctively caught him with the intention to protect his son.

The Nogitsune stuttered a word that sounded like 'Dad', as he was getting on his feet again. It actually felt like Stiles for a second. He looked at him and the expression was not evil. The person who appeared to be Stiles stared into his eyes and his face changed into an emotionless mask again.

"Sheriff, come on, were you really going to fall for that?" He said, looking amused.

Mr. Stilinski knew that the Nogitsune was making fun of them at every opportunity he got, but this time it felt different. It felt as if Stiles was there for that split second. He carefully welcomed hope in his mind again, which was a thing that didn't escape the spirit.

"You think hope is going to save you? Why would you think something like that?" Mr. Stilinski was asked.

The Nogitsune called his army of Onis, but no shadows turning into soldiers appeared. He closed his eyes and focused on them, but nothing happened, only he was feeling weaker. The sheriff watched him not knowing what to think but that something was wrong and that it probably was for their benefit.

One of the Onis almost appeared near them, but the black smoke cumulating in the air dissolved soon. The Nogitsune didn't feel as strong as usual and started to have a hard time even standing on his own. His eyes filled with a drop of life again and then he almost collapsed.

Stiles' dad instantly registered the change and got closer to him. He did so with caution, but didn't stop until he was right in front of him. The Nogitsune was looking down, trying to stay focused.

He stared at his hands for a while and then said quietly: "I killed her." and looked at the sheriff.

"Stiles?"

"I killed her with my bare hands." was the answer he got.

Stiles' dad was certain that he got his son back. He didn't know how and for how long, but he knew it was happening. He put his hands on Stiles' shoulders, being convinced it was really him.

"Stiles!" he shouted.

"Dad." Stiles let out of his mouth.

"Is that really you? How?" Mr. Stilinski couldn't hide being both happy and surprised.

"I don't think I have a lot of time." Stiles said, bringing his dad back to reality. "I think he is weakened, but I don't know for how long I can resist him." he went on.

"It's okay, son, we will figure out how to make everything right again." His dad comforted him.

"I don't mean how long I can resist him right now, dad. Promise me something."

Sheriff's smile froze as he listened to his son speaking so dreadfully seriously.

"You have to do it, no matter what. You have to kill him even if it means killing me." Stiles said, his eyes watering.

"Stiles, we will find a way. You, standing here, talking to me, we can start with that, we will figure something out." Mr. Stilinski finished, saying it so hopefully it appeared almost believable even to Stiles.

At that moment, a person running towards them started shouting something. After a few more metres they realized it was Kira.

"Get away from him!" She shouted several times as Stiles started to back down carefully.

She run up to the sheriff, asking him if he was alright.

"Kira, listen. It's Stiles." He told her.

As much as she wanted to believe it, she remembered the last time the Nogitsune pretended to be Stiles and the number of innocent people injured, or worse.

"Mr. Stilinski, it is not your son." She tried to explain to him without success.

"Kira, listen to me. I could see his eyes, I was talking to him." he argued.

"Kira," Stiles tried to joined the conversation, hoping she would see it to, but was cut off by her.

"No! I don't want to hear anything from you. You took our friend and used his body! You killed Malia!" She yelled with her voice shaking.

"Listen to me, Kira. I promise you, it's him." His dad tried to tell her again.

She recalled what her mom told her and as much as she wished it was all true, she just couldn't believe it and didn't want anyone else to get hurt. She was standing close to the sheriff, which she used to her advantage. Kira quickly pulled the right side of sheriff's jacket away. Before he was able to realize what is going on, she took his gun out of its case and pointed it at Stiles.

"Hey, hey! Kira! Calm down!" The sheriff shouted.

She lowered the gun a little and said: "Mr. Stilinski. I know he looks like him. He might even act like him now. But it's not him."

She had all the things her mom said on her mind and couldn't think about a better option.

"Too many people got hurt already." she said and few tears streamed down her face.

"Kira," Stiles tried to make his move once more.

"Stop." She answered, not even screaming anymore. She looked around her for the first time and saw Scott still laying on the ground.

"I'm sorry." Kira finished and pointed the gun at her previous target. She slid her finger on the trigger and hesitated a little. She didn't know if she was strong enough to pull it and shoot someone who looks like one of her best friends. She had two choices, to finish what she started or to put the gun down. She stopped thinking and went with her instincts.

The sheriff was scared, but impatient and couldn't think about anything else but his son. None of them could think clearly. He run out to Stiles and at that same moment a gunshot deafened everyone. The sheriff changed his direction to the left so he found himself right in front of his son as a bullet tore through his clothes, skin and flesh into his chest as he got to his knees and then fell to the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

The very second Kira realized what has been done she dropped the gun.

"Oh my god." She sighed and run towards a lifeless body laying on the floor.

When she got to him, Kira saw he was bleeding quite a lot and as she remember from school, she took off her jacket and used it to apply pressure on the wound. She took out her phone with one hand and called 911.

As it was Saturday, there was really noone around the school to help right away. She knew that the sheriff wasn't the only one injured, but wasn't sure taking Scott to the hospital was a good idea, so when she finished calling for an ambulance, she dialled Dr. Deaton, who had already helped them several times.

"Hello, Dr. Deaton," she said, trying to sound collected, but not doing a very good job, "I need you to get to school immediately, Scott is injured. I'm sorry, I didn't know who to call."

"It's alright, Kira, I'm on my way, please tell me what happened." He said with an attempt to calm her down.

"There was an explosion. Scott is lying on the ground not moving." She answered, getting overwhelmed by hysteria and fear a bit as she was realizing what happened and more importantly what she has done herself.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Dr. Deaton answered and hung up.

Kira was getting nervous about where Isaac and Lydia were even though she knew they did research at Lydia's house which is pretty far away from the school and despite the importance of the situtation the time they could get there in hasn't passed yet.

They arrived at the same time as Dr. Deaton, both before the ambulance. It was a lucky coincidence that the veterinarian lived so close to school, as it was too risky to get Scott to hospital. Melissa might not be there and there would surely be some consequences if someone saw a patient's burns heal in hours.

Isaac and Lydia run out of her car, each one in a different direction. Isaac went to help Dr. Deaton get Scott in his car and Lydia got to Kira and pressed her hands on the wound too.

"What happened?" She asked.

Kira wasn't able to say out loud that she is to blame. "He was here." She finally answered.

Lydia looked around. The Nogitsune was nowhere to be seen, but the damage he had done couldn't be missed.

Barely a minute after they managed to get Scott to the car, the paramedics came. They quickly put Mr. Stilinski on a stretcher and carried him into the ambulance. Lydia got in too, so someone would be in hospital with him.

The rest of them got in the car and Dr. Deaton drove away. He stopped in front of Kira's house and as much as she wanted to go with them, they told her to at least have a shower to wash out the blood and then come, hoping it would calm her down a bit. She forcibly agreed, got out of the car and went home.

\----------------------

The door was unlocked and that meant someone was home. She wanted to be alone for a while, but the reality was inevitable. She didn't have to say a thing, all the bloodstains on her clothes and skin said it for her and she just stared at her mom through the living room looking dead tired.

"Kira, come here." Her mom said on the way to the bathroom, going to help her daughter wash the blood of her hands. "Tell me what happened."

Kira looked at her as if she lost all the words in the world.

"It's my fault." She said, terrified.

She didn't want to think about it, but also knew not saying it wouldn't make it not true.

"I thought I was doing what you told me to. I'm so sorry." She said as she buried her head in her mom's chest and started crying.

"Shhh," Mrs. Yukimura tried to calm her daughter, caressing her hair. "It's going to be fine."

She didn't want to push Kira to telling her what happened and waited for her to start speaking, which came shortly after she finished.

"I took sheriff's gun. I didn't want to hurt anyone, but he was going to fool him. I don't know why I did it, it was like an instinct. I didn't mean for this to happen." She said, sobbing after every other word.

Her mom was getting impatient and scared for her child. "Is he dead?" She asked, being a bit too forward, but she knew it would be unbearably hard for Kira if she was the one who put an end to a life of someone they cared about.

"I don't know." Kira answered. "I pulled the trigger. Mom, I shot Mr. Stilinski." She let out quietly.

"Kira. He is going to be okay. Your intentions were not bad, you did what was right." Her mom said, hiding a bit of a shock while still washing Kira's weakened hands. "Change your clothes, I will go and make you tea." She finished and left the room.

Kira did as she was told and came to their living room after, where her mom waited for her with a hot tea. She sat down and gratefully took it.

"Are you ready to tell me everything that happened?" Her mother asked.

"Okay." She said, not being very sure.

She took a deep breath and started. "Scott send me a text that the Nogitsune got to him and the sheriff. By the time I got there, the police car was on fire and Scott was unconsious." She stopped for a moment. "Oh god, I have to go, see if Scott is okay." She got up and headed for the door.

"Wait. I'm sure he is going to be alright, he will heal in a few hours probably and he is in good hands. Sit down, you need to tell me what happened." Her mom basically commanded.

Kira listened, unwillingly sat down and continued. "Scott was laying on the ground and Mr. Stilinski was talking to the Nogitsune and telling me it's Stiles. I knew it wasn't him and that he was getting to his head, so I did it. But the sheriff got in the way." She finished and just stared in front of her with no expresion.

They were both quiet for a while until Kira's mom ruptured the silence. "Kira, there is something you need to know. I found something out today."

She wanted to tell her sooner, but a lot has happened and she didn't even know if this was the right time.

"What is it?" Kira asked.

"It's about your sword and Scott's bite. They did not kill the Nogitsune, but they surely have weakened him."

"Does that mean there is a way to defeat him? To get Stiles back?" She asked, not letting her mom finish.

She was becoming a bit hopeful that at least something good could happen today.

"Well", Mrs. Yukimura continued, "all I know it means for now is, that Stiles is still in there."

"That's great! That's something!" Kira cut her off again.

"I also think it means that he can sometimes be himself." Mrs. Yukimura finished, not very happy even though the news were positive.

Kira lit up with happiness, but right after that her face freezed in shock and horror.

"Oh my god. That means that I almost shot my friend." she realized, becoming frightened of her own words again. "He saw me shoot his dad."


	7. Chapter 7

After they dropped Kira off at her home, they headed for the vet's office. Dr. Deaton drove much faster than the speed limit ordered him to and normally he wouldn't do that, but Scott was regaining his consciousness.

In a few moments, he became completely lucid, feeling the pain of every burn and every cut, unbearable even for someone with a pain threshold as high as a supernatural creature of his kind, and started screaming.

Isaac, who sat next to him in the back grabbed his arms so he wouldn't hurt himself more than he already was. It didn't take very long, because Scott passed out again. Even though on some of his injuries an improvement was visible, his condition was still too severe, but hopefully not for much longer.

When they parked in the back of the building where Dr. Deaton worked, Scott was still out. They carried him into the operating room and put him on the table. Deaton immediately started treating him. He cleaned his wounds and applied a plenty of ointments and oils to help with the healing process.

\----------------------

Scott kept on losing and regaining his conciousness for almost an hour until he got well enough to stay awake. He didn't look very good just yet, but still far better than when they found him. He was laying on the table, not moving too much, saving his energy. Isaac and Deaton left him there for a while to rest. When they came back, he was in pain, but at least it was manageable and he could talk to the others.

"What the hell happened out there?" Isaac asked curiously.

Scott took a moment to put all the pieces together and told them about the Nogitsune coming and the car exploding. He really couldn't say much more, because everything happened while he was out.

"Scott, you know," Isaac started, "sheriff Stilinski got shot."

"Did he do that?" Scott asked quite angrily.

"Probably. Kira will come soon and tell us everything that happened." Isaac said and left the room to answer his ringing phone.

"Dr. Deaton," Scott started after a quiet moment, "what are we going to do? He is always a step ahead of us." He sounded concerned.

"For now, I will prepare injection with Letharia Vulpina. It's a thing we have already done, but it's also the only thing we are sure that works." Dr. Deaton said and immediately started preparing the needles. "I will make stronger doses, just to make sure."

He finished in no time and put all the syringes on the table.

Isaac came back and told the rest that he spoke with Lydia. She didn't say much, but she was on her way and was about to come in a few minutes.

\------------------------------------

She did so, actually storming into the room. When Scott saw her, he tried to sit and even though the pain was still there, it was much better.. She sat down, trying to catch her breath and told them everything she knew.

"It's not very good so far." She started, making everyone feel uneasy. "Well, they were talking in the doctor's language a lot and didn't want to tell me anything, because I am not related to him, but Melissa came and found out for me."

Scott heard his mom's name and got. She didn't deserve to be sucked into this mess.

"Does she know what happened to me?" He asked.

"No, I didn't want to scare her even more, I only told her there was an accident." Lydia said.

"So, what with the sheriff?" Isaac impatiently jumped in.

"Well, he was in a surgery, he is out and stable, but he hasn't woken up yet. They said it's a waiting game now."

"Ok." Scott tiredly sighed.

They had next to no idea what happened and Kira didn't get to them yet.

"There is one more thing," Lydia said, getting everyone's attention, "when we were in the ambulance, he regained his conciousness for a few seconds."

"Well, that's a good sign, isn't it?" Scott asked.

"Honestly, I don't know, but the point is, that he said something to me. I went over it a hundred times and I am sure that he said 'It was Stiles. It really was him.'"

Everyone looked at her with undisguised surprise and confusion.

"Didn't he mean that it was Stiles who did it? That the Nogitsune shot him?" Isaac started.

"I don't know. I don't know what it means, if there is the real Stiles somewhere, I don't know anything honestly, but I know what said this." She answered.

"Lydia, are you one hundred percent sure?" Scott was being very careful with getting his hopes up again. "Yes. I am sure he said these words exactly." She replied persuasively.

"What the hell." Isaac just said with resigning tone, not understanding a thing.

"Dr. Deaton," Scott turned to him, "do you thing it is possible that it really was him?"

"I wouldn't know, but frankly, I don't think they have separated again, in my opinion the result of such action would be fatal for both of them. Maybe there is some sort of inner fight going on, which would make more sense, but I certainly don't want to jump to conclusions." Dr. Deaton honestly answered.

\--------------------------------------

They debated for a while, when a loud bang could be heard from outside the door. Isaac went to see what was going on, when the door flew open and a person run in. It was the one looking like their friend.

Everyone was so confused by his actions that they just stood there, doing nothing while facing a possible threat. Scott would normally be the one to keep his cool and either prepare to fight or help if needed, but he wasn't in a shape neither to stand up to someone or stand up yet.

Noone moved a muscle as they watched Stiles, getting through the room. He wasn't able to walk without being supported by a wall. He was blabbering something and kept his head down, not making any eye contact. He focused on the table Scott was sitting on. He stopped talking, let go of the wall and made his way right to the spot his eyes pointed to. He stopped in front of the table, looked at Scott and started breathing very heavily, almost as if he was about to scream his lungs out.

Isaac realized Scott wouldn't be able to defend himself in his state and headed towards them through the room, when the Nogitsune picked up the needle laying right next to Scott. His arms turned against himself, as he stabbed it in his neck and weakened collapsed to the floor.


	8. Chapter 8

Everyone was shocked by what have just happened. They were all pretty much convinced that it wasn't the Nogitsune stabbing himself and helping them capture himself, so they started operating with the thought already mentioned before, that it really was Stiles, who was talking to the sheriff and who stormed into the room just moments ago.

Isaac picked him up from the floor and put him into a chair. They decided it would be better to tie him up. Scott didn't want them to make it too tight, because it could have been his best friend right there. Dr. Deaton wanted to be cautious, but agreed and made the rope loose enough so it wouldn't hurt and then put a tape over his mouth.

\--------------------------------

Few minutes passed and Stiles woke up, tied to a chair.

Scott felt good enough to get off the table and stand on his own already. He took a chair and sat opposite to Stiles. Even though they weren't completely sure it really was him, he decided to take the tape off of his mouth. As he pulled Stiles made a painful sound. He was trying to focus on his surroundings and not what is happening inside.

"Stiles?" Scott asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't want this. Why is this happening again? I'm so sorry." By now everyone believed it really is Stiles sitting in the room with them.

"It's okay. It's not your fault." Scott tried to calm him down.

Dr. Deaton jumped in with some safety precautions he just thought of.

"Stiles. We don't know for how long the poison will be effective. If you feel weak, like he is coming back, tell us, please. It will not be pleasant, but we will give you more and it should give us a little bit more time." Stiles just nodded.

He would love to pretend the fight inside his head doesn't exist, but he had to be realistic, took a few deep breaths and got himself to talk. "I think he is weakened and that's why I get to be myself sometimes." He tried to stay calm. It was hard, but he managed.

Lydia wasn't able to do anything, just stood there, looked at Stiles and tried not to start crying.

"I can't remember where he was hiding until now. We. We were hiding." He corrected himself with heavy heart.

"Stiles, what happened there at the parking lot? Did you do something?" Isaac asked a bit too directly again.

"Oh my god. Dad." Stiles let out hurtfully.

Noone really wanted to talk about it. They didn't want him to feel miserable the time he gets to feel without someone else controlling his every move.

Lydia decided to change the subject. "Stiles." She spoke for the first time.

He looked at her and he didn't want that moment to ever stop. He felt safe with her there, looking into his eyes. Hers were watering, which reminded him of all the bad stuff. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

"Do you know why he did this? Or what he is planning?" Lydia asked.

"I don't think there is a plan. He just wants to bring chaos." Stiles answered. "Guys," he continued, getting nauseous, "I don't feel very good. I think he is coming back."

Dr. Deaton didn't take any chances and injected Stiles with another Letharia Vulpina and he passed out. They didn't really know what to ask him or tell him or even what to do. They also knew they gained some extra time but they couldn't keep doing this forever.

\-----------------------------------

Stiles woke up again. His mind was a little foggy, but he was ready to tell them whatever he could. He remembered what he was asked the last time. "There is no plan. I'm sorry."

"That's okay." Lydia comforted him.

They sat there quietly, but Dr. Deaton knew they had no time to waste, so he decided to set the record straight. "Stiles. I don't think we have much time, but there must be something. The first time might have been a failure, but there must be a way to defeat him. Do you have any idea why it didn't work?" Deaton asked with an urgent tone, putting a lot of pressure on Stiles.

He concentrated and tried to go back in the memories of the Nogitsune and find something out. It wasn't as easy as if Stiles was the one getting his mind searched by the fox.

"I think I know why it didn't work," He said after a while. "Well, just some of it. It's all in small pieces."

"That doesn't matter at all, tell us what you can, please." Dr. Deaton encouraged him.

"The katana, it was already used once before. He was somehow sure it wouldn't work. I don't know why." Stiles started.

"Maybe it lost its power when it defeated him for the first time." Lydia said.

Stiles looked at her and they just stared at each other. He was determined to help as much as he could, because he would never survive if something happened to Lydia and it would be even worse if it would be done by his own hands.

"That's probably true." Dr. Deaton cut in on the moment between Lydia and Stiles.

"Anything else?" Isaac asked curiously.

Stiles looked away from her so he could even acknowledge the existence of anyone else in the room.

"The bite," he continued, "I don't know, it just feels like he wasn't very sure, but then, and that I am sure of, he was amazed and thrilled, as if he solved a mystery or cracked some indecipherable code."

"Do you mean that the Nogitsune found a way to protect himself from the effect of werewolf bite?" Dr. Deaton asked in disbelief.

"I don't know. Sorry." Stiles answered, feeling a bit down, as if he disappointed them.

He started feeling weaker again, but he didn't want to say anything, because he knew that the time he is fine gets shorter and shorter. Still, he wanted to tell them everything that could help, so he told them it has come back and Dr. Deaton injected him with another dose of the poison.

Stiles passed out in the chair once again.

"Is it really possible to have something protect you from the bite?" Lydia asked doubtfully.

She thought that they would already know if something like this existed.

"I only have heard of this once," Dr. Deaton said, not able to believe that the thing he laughed at before is now considered an option, "not about this specifically, but I heard about a cure." He said.

Scott and Lydia were left speechless.

"I would have to look more into this and as I really didn't believe it before I'm not sure we should do that now." He continued.

"It's our only option, we have to go with it." Scott disagreed.

He didn't really know what to think, but this for the first thing that could count as a lead that could help them figure out how to save Stiles, who slowly woke up again.

They had a little time to proccess and think about everything that has been said, so Dr. Deaton tried to form his questions as effectively as possible.

"Stiles?" He asked first, to make sure it's him.

Stiles nodded rather tiredly and the veterinarian started asking. "Did the Nogitsune find a cure?"

"Well, I think it was more like a shield." Stiles said weakly, he was running out of strength fast. "But I think that is why he wasn't so sure using it, it might have been a cure and he wasn't a werewolf already." Stiles felt it coming to him like memories he never lived.

He was glad he finally told them something else then that he doesn't know, even though he wasn't one hunder percent sure this time either. He wanted to ask about his dad and how Scott was feeling, but another question was shot at him by Isaac, who wanted to know if there is a place where he thinks the Nogitsune would head next.

"I honestly have no idea. To be honest, I don't think he plans much forward." Stiles answered, reminding himself that he is the weaker one in his body. He was also slightly uncomfortable with everone, including him, describing the Nogitsune as 'he'. It was a spirit, not a person or a part of him.

"This is really helpful though, we will definitely find out more about the cure." Scott claimed, trying to preserve the hope, or what is left of it.

\-----------------------------------------

When Scott finished talking, Kira opened the door and came in. Stiles was hoping they get to talk about what happened finally.

She stopped when she spotted him and gave him a long apologetic look. She was calmed down enough to talk about it now.

"So, what is going on?" She asked, ready but still hoping they already knew everything and she didn't have to say a thing.

"We found out some stuff worth looking into." Scott filled her in briefly.

"Kira." Stiles said emotionlessly.

A shiver was sent down her spine.

"Guys, how is Mr. Stilinski doing?" She asked, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer.

Noone wanted to talk about it because of Stiles, but it was inevitable now that Kira brought it up.

"He is fine." Lydia lied, but both Stiles and Kira could see through that.

"Lydia, please, tell me the thruth." Stiles insisted.

She looked at Scott, who approved by nodding his head.

"He was in surgery. It went well, but they basically said he is in a coma."

A look of horror appeared on Kira's face.

"But that doesn't mean he is not going to wake up." Lydia tried to make the situation less messy.

Kira was seconds away from a breakdown and Stiles looked tired and sad, just staring in front of himself.

"I'm so sorry, Stiles." That was the only thing Scott could think of at the moment.

"He's gonna be okay, don't blame yourself. It might have been done by your hands, but you have to remember it wasn't you. Your dad is going to wake up." Lydia said, trying to ease the pain once more.

"What are you talking about?" Stiles jumped in.

Kira realized they really didn't know what happened and knew it was a time to come clean.

"Guys," she said, getting everyone's attention, "it was me. It was an accident. I was the one who shot Stiles' dad."

They were all shocked, unable to say a word.

"She was trying to shoot me." Stiles said sounding hurt, but also understanding.

Kira looked at him and tears started streaming down her face.

"But she hit my dad instead." Stiles finished.

Everyone was quiet for a while, trying to put the pieces together.

"Stiles," Lydia whispered, "are you okay?"

He was being himself without telling them he feels the Nogitsune coming back for longer than before, so she decided to check with him.

"Yes." he simply answered. He looked at Kira again. "You shot my dad." he blamed her.

She made a few steps closer to him. "I'm so sorry. I never meant for something like this to happen. I'm sorry." she cried out.

After a few seconds of silence, Stiles felt a rush of anger and other unwanted feelings going to his head. "I know you are." Stiles said crying, when four Onis appeared behind everyone except for Kira, putting swords to their necks.

"One move and someone dies." He said, breaking the rope he was tied up with and standing up. Stiles was gone again. "He might have gotten over me for a bit, but do you really think half of what he told you is true? You know, I was still in there even though he might have been talking to you." The Nogitsune said with derision.

Isaac tried to move himself into a better position so he could fight the Oni, but Scott shook his head in disapproval. He wasn't strong enough to fight, not one, and certainly not four Onis.

"But you," the Nogitsune continued, turning to Kira, "you really pissed him off, you know. He hates you. Why do you think it was so easy for me to come back? He let me. He was tired of you letting him down."

They didn't want to listen to him, because they knew Stiles would never do that, but it all could have been true. They did let him down and he was only rightfull to hate them right now.

"Actually, I have a little surprise for you."

Everyone was scared by his tricks.

Scott tried to do something, adding a cut on his neck to his injuries as he moved forward. The Oni grabbed him before he could do anything.

"I was really looking forwards to this," he made a dramatic pause and then continued, "let's play a little game. See, you tried to kill me once. You failed and now it's my turn." He said and put on the most terrifying smile. "And if one of you, smart boys, even moves a muscle," he turned to Scott and Isaac, "Lydia, here, dies." He finished.

Both Isaac and Scott immediately started thinking how to get around the Onis in time for Lydia not to get hurt as they communicated through small nods and eye movement.

"I took something from you Kira and I was so impatient to show it to you." the Nogitsune said.

She had no idea what he was talking about, as he was getting closer and closer. Scott and Isaac were getting more nervous they can't do anything. Isaac only moved his hand a little when a sword got pressed against Lydia's throat.

"Remember this?" the Nogitsune said.

Kira couldn't believe what he just pulled out underneath his shirt.

He came closer and Kira could see his eyes screaming with joy, when she felt a sharp pain spreading from her abdomen to her whole body.

The Nogitsune stabbed her with the remaining piece of the katana that was supposed to kill him. He pulled it out and Kira felt down, holding her stomach as blood started running through her fingers.

"No!" Scott screamed so loud the window glass shook.

He pushed the sword away and wanted to run to Kira, but the Nogitsune stood up.

"I wouldn't do that." He warned Scott as he pointed the bloody weapon to Lydia.

"Stop! Let us go! Let Stiles go!" Scott continued, his voice raised.

Kira was bleeding out slowly as the Nogitsune told her: "Honey, don't you die just yet. I called an old friend of mine, should be here any second."

Everyone was trying to get out of the clutches of the Onis, but Scott, usually the strongest one, was still too weak due to the injuries caused by the explosion.

Kira started coughing blood and the Nogitsune didn't hide his satisfaction. "Looks like I won this game. How does it feel to be the victim of your own weapon?" He said looking down at her. A pool of blood was slowly appearing around her as she started to have difficulties breathing.

"Any second now." The Nogitsune was pleased.

The door flew open.

It was Kira's mother, Mrs. Yukimura. She run into the room, looking around, seeing Kira laying on the floor, immediately running to her daughter as she closed her eyes and let out her last breath.


	9. Chapter 9

The world had stopped. Everything that could be heard at the moment was Mrs. Yukimura screaming for her daughter. The others just stood there, unable to oppose the edges of swords pressing against their skin. Their eyes watched everything as their brains were not capable of proccesing any of it. It just didn't make sense.

Kira's mom held her daughter's hand and with cried her head pressed to Kira's chest.

She was a very strong person, but this was not the time to act brave as her world was falling apart.

The Nogitsune smiled for himself and slowly made his way to the door. It looked as if he was trying to be as quiet as possible, but also wanted to be seen leaving. He turned his head for the last time to see the disaster he left behind, then victoriously put his hands behind his back and left the room. The Onis followed, disappearing soon after.

The others were finally free, but instead of chasing after the cause of all this, Scott and Lydia run to their friend lifeless on the floor while Isaac just stood there, not moving, ignoring the world.

Scott tried to wake her up, shaking her shoulders, as if she was just unconscious or sleeping heavily.

Lydia felt bad, as her powers failed, because she was too consumed with fear of her own life. She suggested starting heart compressions, but Kira's mom just shook her head.

"Once the heart stops and the fox dies, the soul departs to another path," she said in quiet despair, letting go of Kira's hand.

It was too late and nothing could be done to save their friend.

\------------------------------------

Lydia wiped her eyes as Scott was approaching her.

"Have you seen Isaac?" He asked.

She had. She saw him when he was leaving, but she felt that he didn't want to be bothered as the service probably brought back a lot of memories.

"No." She lied.

"Okay. Mrs. Yukimura told me, she wants to talk to us after. What do you think she wants?" Scott asked.

"I don't know. Well, we haven't seen her since that day, so she probably doesn't even know what exactly had happened." Lydia implied.

"True." Scott noted.

Their conversation ended and they stood together near the exit and quietly watched the service.

"Beautiful service. I'm so sorry for your loss. Take care. She was such an amazing girl."

Scott and Lydia could hear everyone say these sentences over and over again as the end of the line was getting closer to Kira's parents. They thanked and shook hands with everyone, one by one. When Scott and Lydia's turn came, they didn't say a thing. Mrs. Yukimura nodded and pointed her finger to a room in the back, where they could talk privately.

Her husband parted from them to greet and talk to other people.

They entered small, quite cold room in the church where noone could disturb them. Lydia closed the door behind her and turned her attention to Mrs. Yukimura. They had no idea what to expect from her. She wasn't saying anything, as if she couldn't bring herself to.

"It was a beautiful service." Lydia started, the bags under her eyes still visible from the mixture of crying and tiredness.

"Mrs. Yukimura," Scott started, not really knowing what he should say next, when she stopped him.

"No," she said, "you don't have the right to talk to me. My daughter is dead, because of you."

They didn't expect for things to take a turn like this. She was really angry and they didn't dare to say anything.

"Stiles needs to die." She said in a horribly calm way. "It's not your friend anymore and he has to be taken care of."

They understood it was the grief talking, but it still sounded disturbing and dangerous.

"I may not be the fox anymore, but I have the knowledge and now I have become willing to do what needs to be done." She said, with the last sentence sounding like an actual threat.

"Mrs. Yukimura," Scott said again, "I know what happened was horrible, but Kira would not want someone to get hurt, especially her friend, as a revenge."

Lydia nodded in agreement.

"You think you knew my daughter better than me?" She asked, not playing around anymore. She sounded full of the desire for revenge.

Lydia was really uncomfortable with all the screaming and as Scott saw that on her he tried to talk some sense into Kira's mom.

"Of course we don't, but she was our friend. We loved her. We still do. And I still think she would want us to get by." That was true and Mrs. Yukimura agreed. Scott then continued. "We know more now. There is supposed to be a cure. Something that protected him. We can find it and we can save Stiles. We can do this. Together." He finished, hoping for the best.

"On that, I disagree. I know what I've told my daughter. Stiles was the one controlling his body. But he was also the one who let the spirit back in. Again, for the third time. And even a strong soul has its weaknesses. He is too far gone now. There is no way Stiles is in there anymore and if any part of him remains, he knew exactly what he was doing and didn't do anything to stop it."

Scott and Lydia both knew she really believed what she said.

"I will not let Stiles kill more." Mrs. Yukimura finished coldly and left the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Scott and Lydia both decided it would be best to go their separate ways for the day and try to rest. They were too tired to start research right away or in the worse case stand up to the Nogitsune again.

Lydia went straight home. She got to bed and did her best trying to fall asleep. It took her a long time, but eventually she did and slept until the next morning.

Meanwhile Scott decided to go to the hospital, to check on Stiles' dad. He met his mom there, who asked how he was doing. He said he was fine, just tired, which was quite a lie. Nothing was fine, but he carried on with the conversation, asking how Mr. Stilinski is doing.

"He hasn't woken up and nothing changed, his vitals are still the same."

Scott knew that the longer the sheriff hadn't woken up the less chance is there for him to, but at least he didn't get worse.

After that he headed home too. He tried to search the Internet for information about the Nogitsune, but he had no luck and after a while he also decided that going to bed is the best option. Their problems would still be there the next day and he was to no use like this. The least he could do for himself was to sleep for a bit, so he did.

\----------------------------

The next day they were supposed to go to school, but both decided not to. Everyone would understand why they wouldn't show up, using the opportunity to get together and just think.

Lydia came to Scott's house around ten o'clock, after they both woke up from a long sleep.

"Hi." She said and smiled. It was a sad smile, but a little bit less forced than the days before. She sat down on the couch in Scott's living room.

It was a quiet house at the moment. His mom was working, but she left them some food for later.

They didn't do much for the first hour, talking a lot about the usual stuff like school and such, letting their minds rest from the supernatural for a bit, but the time came they had to talk about it anyway.

"What should we do next?" Lydia asked when there was no other school subject to talk about.

"We can get something to eat." Scott answered.

"No, I mean, what is our next move?" She specified.

"Oh," Scott sighed and sat back down, "I don't know exactly. I tried to look up some info on the Internet yesterday, but nothing useful came up."

"There has to be someone who knows something." Lydia said, trying to suggest calling Mrs. Yukimura, who might be the one to go to.

"I don't think that's a good idea just yet." Scott answered, knowing exactly who she had in mind.

"And what about Dr. Deaton?" Lydia thought out loud.

It was true that he was the only one they knew who ever heard about the fact that something like a cure might even exist. He was a very smart man with a lot of connections, so Scott agreed with Lydia and decided to give him a call.

Lydia could hear him saying that he would do everything to find out as much as possible.

When Scott hang up, he didn't have to say anything and Lydia smiled a little. "Let's eat now." She said.

They both learned to be very careful with hope, but patient and satisfied with the little things.

They enjoyed their lunch quietly. After that, they tried to look for information or legends or basically anything, but after a while they stopped, realising all they can do was wait.

Lydia decided to go home and prepare for school, which they were going to the next day.

"Have you heard from Isaac?" Scott asked when she was about to leave.

"No." Lydia simply answered.

Scott nodded in goodbye and she left.

They didn't know if Isaac left the town or was home, but they didn't want to make him jump right back in, as the death of Kira must have brought back memories of Allison. For Scott Allison was the most important person and he missed her a lot, but Isaac took it especially hard.

\----------------------------

The following day they met in the morning and went to school together. The official story was that they got mugged by some man and Kira got stabbed and that the police haven't caught him yet.

They got a lot of 'I am so sorry, Kira was an amazing girl, she was such a good friend' the whole day, half of it from people that have probably never met them or Kira.

\--------------------------------

For a few more days they were getting sorry looks by everyone, but less and less people were coming up to them and they could finally almost feel like at school again. Only Isaac was still nowhere to be seen and also Mr. Yukimura remained absent.

Scott's phone rang and an unknown number showed on the screen. He picked up in and heard Mrs. Yukimura's voice. He didn't really know what to say, but she did the talking.

She introduced herself and started: "Scott, I am very sorry for what I said the last time. I was very upset and hurt. I want you to know I will not do anything to hurt Stiles, but I will not help you, sorry. We are leaving the town tomorrow morning."

Scott expressed his understanding, wished them luck and hung up. He then told Lydia what she said. They both understood that Kira's parents didn't want to stay in town to be reminded of what they lost every single day.

Every day after school, they went back to the McCalls' to do homework and finish some schoolwork they missed over the few last days. They were spending a lot of time together, keeping themselves distracted while waiting. They also felt better, especially Scott, knowing the other one is alive.

They stopped asking each other about Isaac, because not knowing if he's going to show up or not only made them feel nervous and guilty.

\---------------------------------

One of these afternoons they finally recieved a call from Dr. Deaton to meet them in his office. He sounded serious, but didn't tell them if he found something out or not. They didn't get their hopes up, but immediately went to the vet's.

When they got there, he still had a patient so they impatiently stood in the waiting room. A woman with a dog walked out shortly after and they rushed in. That woman was Deaton's last patient for the day, so they had a plenty of time to talk.

They sat down and Dr. Deaton told them everything he got to find out.

"I called my friend from Japan first, but then I realized I am not looking for information about the Nogitsune, but more about the werewolfs. He didn't know more than we already did, but gave me a number I might get answers from."

"Did you?" Scott let out impatiently.

"Yes. Well, something at least. The man told me more about the legend. It is unknown what kind of object the cure is, because as the legend passed through generations, multiple versions appeard. The thing that is known for sure is that it is something that is attached to the spirit and the soul, not to the body. There were stories about two ways how to stop or divert the cure. They got lost over the years, but I was promised he would try to find them out." Dr. Deaton said.

"Alright, that doesn't give us much, but it's something." Scott noted.

"Actually, that right here gives us a way I think." Dr. opposed. "As I said, the cure is attached to the soul, but it is not considered for two souls or spirit possesing one body."

"So that means only the Nogitsune is the one with a cure, not Stiles." Lydia said.

"Exactly." Dr. Deaton reacted.

"Okay, we need Stiles to be himself again. But then what?" Scott asked.

"Well, there certainly cannot be two souls of the opposite nature in one body." Deaton explained.

"Oh my god," Lydia sighed, "we need to turn Stiles into a werewolf."


	11. Chapter 11

They didn't have much information, but still decided to go with the plan, which was to get Stiles back and turn him.

It wasn't what Scott wanted for his best friend, but at this point, there was no other way. Noone knew what was the Nogitsune plotting, or if there even was some plan, but they didn't care.

They started to look into places connected to either Stiles or the Nogitsune, hoping to find out where he is hiding. They searched every inch of the school, the sherrif's office, the Eichen house, but it without any results.

That was until they decided to try it at Stiles's home. They found some trails that suggested someone was there recently. It didn't cross their minds to look there as it was very unlikely at first, but they realized it made perfect sense as Stiles' dad wasn't home and Melissa only stopped by every few days to check on the house.

They also got lucky he wasn't there at the moment, because even though they have a plan, they weren't prepared for the encounter just yet. They knew they needed a help of everyone available.

 

\------------------------------------

Scott knew his ways around the house probably better than Stiles himself as he was sneaking in and out many times, so he sometimes went there to observate the situation.

They also talked to Scott's mom, asking her if she would come with them. Scott didn't want to do it, to put her in danger, but they needed every little thing that could help rise Stiles to the surface.

"Mrs. McCall," Lydia started when they met her as Scott didn't seem to be the one to talk, "we may have found a way to get Stiles back."

"That's great news." Scott's mom answered with a genuine smile.

"For that, we need Stiles to come back, at least for a moment," Scott took over Lydia, "and we thought it would be good if everyone even remotely close to him would be there to help. But if you don't want to do it,.."

"I'm in." His mom jumped in. "I'll go with you, anything to help."

They were glad they had the support, but a lot of insecurity was also present as they might be putting her in a very dangerous situation.

Dr. Deaton called later and after Scott explained everything, he decided to join in. "There's one other thing I need to tell you, just to clear something up, why don't you and Lydia come over when you can?" he asked. "We'll be there after school. See you." Scott greeted him and hung up.

 

\-----------------------------------

Their last class ended and they headed over to Deaton's office instantly, wondering why they didn't go sooner as they didn't even pay attention in the classes lately. If it was up to them, they wouldn't even go there and focused on the fight with the Nogitsune entirely.

They got there and Dr. Deaton started explaining.

"I got in contact with the source and he managed to find out a bit more. He said that when the cure is used on a werewolf it is permanent." He said.

Dr. just looked at them waiting for an answer.

Lydia turned to Scott and realized. "The Nogitsune isn't a werewolf." she stated.

"Yes, which means that if he is using this 'cure' thing, it might be reversable. " Dr. Deaton added.

"Isn't that exactly what we need?" Lydia asked.

"But we don't know if any of it is even true, so it's nothing that would help." Scott noted, being very skeptical lately.

"That is unfortunately true, but it is all we have. I was told he will continue the research, so I asked him to keep my number in mind. Also, I told him about you planning to turn Stiles as himself and he said it actually might be a very good approach and that it is most likely that the reason the Nogitsune didn't turn the first time is that he was in control and had the cure." Dr. Deaton reassured them.

"Okay." Scott agreed.

"We're still going with the plan, aren't we?" Lydia asked rather nervously.

"I belive it is the best thing for us to do, with no time to waste I would go on with the only option we have." Dr. Deaton answered.

"We should move fast, get it over with." Scott was getting more and more impatient as the time passed. "I have been around the house a few times and I have spotted some movement and heard what I am pretty sure was the Nogitsune. I am watching from afar so I wouldn't be seen, but I am well-nigh positive. The next time I catch a sight of him I think we should make a move." He said.

"I agree." Dr. Deaton nodded.

\----------------------------

Only two days passed when Scott went to check the house and saw someone in there. He called everyone, Lydia, who was home studying, Dr. Deaton, who just closed his practise for the rest of the day and Melissa, who got someone to cover her shift in the hospital.

He also called Isaac's number, just in case, but it went to voicemail.

\-------------------------------

They met not too far from where the Stilinski family lived to go over their plan once again and give the details to Mrs. McCall.

Dr. Deaton brought a lot of things, a few injections of an extract from Letharia Vulpina between them.

Scott wasn't convinced this was the right way, but they didn't really have anything else in stock.

"So, the plan is, we basically ambush in there, I will use my powers to speed over to him and catch him, stab him with the injection if necessary." Scott anounced.

"I don't think we will be able to avoid using the Letharia, Scott." Lydia said.

"Yeah, whatever." He was on edge, finally wanting to have his best friend back.

"Anyway," Lydia continued, "There might be Onis appearing. This is where you come in, Mrs. McCall."

Stiles' mom was surprised as what she could do against a group of shadow ninjas.

"As soon as we make sure the kitchen is clear, we will move onto Stiles' bedroom, but we need you to grab something in there."

"Okay, what is it?" Melissa asked.

"A gun." Lydia said simply.

"Stiles once told me that when his dad learned about all the supernatural in Beacon Hills he kept a spare gun under the sink. Hopefully the Nogitsune doesn't know or didn't consider it important and it is still there," Scott explained, "if it is, you will get back to us immediately and Dr. Deaton will give you some silver bullets he made."

"Why? I mean, why silver bullets?" Mrs. McCall asked.

The rest of them were surprised that she asked, but Scott realized he never really told her as there was always a lot going on.

"It can destroy an Oni." He explained.

"If the gun is not there, you will get whatever you can to protect yourself, knives, scissors, anything you find as quick as you can and get back to us." Lydia finished.

They didn't want her alone in there, but they needed the gun. Once she was with them again they could at least try to protect her and if things went south even before she got it, they would stall the Onis and the Nogitsune so she could get out as she would be closer to the front door.

"Got it." Melissa said.

"Any questions?" Scott asked for the last time.

Noone said anything.

\------------------------------------

It was a late afternoon, getting dark, but not too much yet, which they took as an advantage. They all made their way closer, walking on the other side of the road, being as causal as they could. They crossed the road when they reached Stilinskis' neighbor's and quietly and slowly continued.

"Everyone ready?" Scott asked when they reached the house.

The rest of them nodded. Scott used his advanced hearing to make sure they weren't spotted as they got on the porch. He put his hand on the doorknob and looked into Lydia's eyes. She looked confident, encouraging everyone including herself.

"Let's do this." She said as Scott opened the door.


	12. Chapter 12

The hall was clear. They proceeded and entered the kitchen. Also clear.

Mrs. McCall started looking for the gun as was told and the rest moved on to the stairs. trying to be as quiet as possible. They were going one step at a time, Scott first, followed by Lydia and Dr. Deaton last.

They reached the top and Scott could see a silhouette on the other side of the hall. At that moment he knew that using the element of surprise wasn't going to work.

He stood in Stiles' room with the door open, slowly turning his body from facing the window.

"You thought I didn't hear you?" He let out a noise of disgrace as the corners of his mouth turned up into an evil smile. "You guys are really persistent. I see your number lowered, you should make some new friends otherwise there will be noone left for me to kill." The Nogitsune said and laughed at his own sick joke.

He dramatically snapped his fingers and two Onis morphed in the hall between the Nogitsune and Scott.

Lydia gripped onto Scott's arm.

"Why are there only three of them?" She whispered, but she didn't really expect an answer and knew that is enough for them to take down.

\--------------------------------------

Melissa was in a hurry, looking through every drawer as the gun wasn't under the sink.

She opened one with a fancy looking box of cutlery inside, when she realised she has seen this set before.

Sheriff Stilinski told her about it. It's the silver set left there by his late wife, Stiles' mom. He never used it and she felt really bad for even touching it, but she grabbed all the knives in there and put them on a desk, continuing her search for the gun.

A few drawers later she finally found it, when an Oni appeared behind her. She saw the shadow standing there and frantically started loading the gun with the bullets in her pocket, given to her by Dr. Deaton.

The Oni was moving to her faster than she could get ready to shoot. As it was reaching for his weapon she grabed one of the knives lying on the kitchen desk and made a bold move ahead, stabbing the Oni right into his mask.

It broke and a streak of yellow light blinded her for a second followed by a cloud of black smoke diffusing where the figure stood.

She couldn't wrap her head around what she just did, feeling as if every single cell in her body was about to burst due to the adrenalin rush. She bought herself some time and finished loading the gun.

After that Melissa grabbed all of the knives and run to the stairs, where the rest of them were in the middle of a fight.

\-------------------------------------

Scott was doing everything he could to take down the Onis and protect both Lydia and Dr. Deaton in the meantime.

They were able to take care of themselves, but in Scott's mind he was the one who had to keep everyone alive. It was three Onis against the three of them, the Nogitsune standing nearby, enjoying the view.

Lydia had her silver piece of rail she found in the attic at home among a pile of useless stuff noone had used in the last twenty years, ready to attack when the time is right.

Scott was doing just fine using his powers, but he was distracted, looking down the stairs a lot, waiting for his mother to show up.

\----------------------------------------

Dr. Deaton got rid of the Oni for a second and decided to run the stairs down and find Melissa.

He was half way down, when one of the shadows reappeared in front of him. He was taken aback by how quick the Oni got on his feet again.

Dr. Deaton wanted to attack, but wasn't fast enough. The Oni grabbed his arm with one hand, Deaton unable to do anything as the pain of his shoulder joint being slowly crushed resonated through his whole body. He was about to give up when a loud piercing sound came from downstairs.

Yellow light streamed from the bullet wound, but before another Oni changed into a black smoke, it managed to pull Dr. Deaton by the shoulder, which threw him down the stairs. He landed on the floor, knocked unconscious and Melissa immediately put her gun down and run to him.

Scott was relieved when he spotted his mom, being alright. He knew she would take care of Dr. Deaton.

She slapped his face a few times to wake him up and after a moment he did. He lifted his head, gasped for air and let out a sigh of pain.

"Are you alright?" Melissa asked.

"My leg hurts, I think it might broken." He answered.

She looked at his legs and noticed a blood stain appearing on the floor under his left calf.

"Lay your head down on the floor again." She said and run to the kitchen, not wanting him to see the wound as he might go into a shock.

Scott and Lydia both looked at each other, knowing that their main goal at the moment is to keep the two remaining Onis busy so they wouldn't go after his mom and Dr. Deaton.

She got back to him with a towel and a bottle of water she found in the fridge.

"Mom, keep the gun and take him outside, now!" Scott shouted in the middle of his fight, as she was concerned about the state of Dr. Deaton, she paid less attention to the danger that the Onis and the Nogitsune represented.

Before she made him get up on his feet she needed to secure the wound. She carefully lifted his leg above the floor, just enough to throw the towel under it and saw his broken fibula perforating his flesh and skin. His facial expression changed with the increased pain. Melissa put his leg carefully on the floor again and tied the towel in the front, so his bone wouldn't stick out even more.

Dr. Deaton tried to get up with Melissa's help and a sharp pain in his right arm reminded him of his crushed shoulder. He clenched his teeth and slowly stood up.

Melissa took him out of the house, laid him down on the sidewalk and shouted at a couple passing by to call an ambulance.

He complained of thirst, but as a nurse she knew she couldn't give him anything to drink because of the risk of getting into shock.

\-------------------------------------

When she made sure he was good enough, she quickly turned around and run back into the house. Scott spotted her and got furious.

"Mom, get the hell out of here!" He yelled at her. He didn't mean it in a wrong way, he just wanted her out of there, away from the danger.

Melissa decided to listen to him and even though she didn't want to leave her only child alone in a fight with a centuries old evil spirit, she knew he could take care of himself and Lydia and would only be distracted by her being there. She at least took the knives that she put on the floor when helping Dr. Deaton, now laying next to a stain of blood, threw them upstairs and ran out again.

\-----------------------------------

Lydia was in a bit of a trouble at the moment, as she attacked the Oni, who stopped her with no visible effort and took the pole from her. The shadow threw her at a wall and she landed on the floor quite hard, but fortunately didn't suffer any injuries. The Oni started walking towards Lydia and slowly getting his katana out.

Scott saw what was happening and realised Lydia didn't notice the knives his mom threw there. He scratched the Oni going after him with his claws once more and bought himself enough time to pick up one of the knives and slide it towards Lydia.

It slid all the way to the other side of the hall, where she sat on the floor, trying to pick herself up before the Oni that was getting closer and closer does something.

She saw the weapon this time and when it got close enough she slammed her hand on the floor to catch it. She adjusted her grip, coloring the knife with blood as it cut across her palm a little when she stopped it from sliding.

When the Oni was approaching her, she leaned to the left side, got up fast and stuck the knife into the Oni's neck. Yet another stream of yellow light appeared where a normal person would bleed from the jugular vein. followed by a quiet explosion of a black cloud.

Lydia felt invincible after what she just did. They took down three Onis in what felt like a minute. There was only one more seperating them from stripping the Nogitsune of the advantage he had.


	13. Chapter 13

Scott picked up one of the knives on the floor too and was about to attack the last Oni standing when it disappeared. He knew the Nogitsune was still in the house, probably in Stiles' room, but he rather checked on Lydia.

"Are you alright?" He asked and looked at her hand.

"Yes, I'm good, thanks." She said truthfully, as the cut on her hand was so superficial it didn't even hurt.

Lydia then run to a window to check if Dr. Deaton is okay. He was just being put on a stretcher and into an ambulance. Lydia could see he was talking to the staff, probably making up some story about how he clumsily fell down the stairs, looking good as far as possible at the moment.

Melissa got to the ambulance with them and as the door of the car closed, she spotted her son in the window and calmly nodded.

Both Scott and Lydia felt relief that Dr. Deaton is going to be fine.

"I think he's in the bedroom." Scott whispered to Lydia.

She nodded and they both starting slowly moving towards its door.

"Keep right behind me, okay?" Scott asked, so they wouldn't get separated.

"Yes, don't worry." Lydia reassured him.

He took the injection of Letharia Vulpina out of his pocket, not really thinking he would be able to use it anymore.

The door was open and as they were approaching it. Scott carefully peeked inside to see noone. He leaned his body even more in the direction until he fully stood in front of the door, looking into an empty room. They both came in to look around, thinking they could maybe find something useful as the Nogitsune was apparently staying there.

Lydia was still following Scott, when the last Oni appeared behind her. Before they could even notice and do anything, the Oni grabbed Lydia by her neck and took its katana out. Scott wanted to do something, but was struck by the Nogitsune appearing at the door.

He slowly entered the room, stopping only few centimeters away from Scott. They were looking into each other's eyes, hostile looks from both sides. Even though Scott was trying to keep calm, he was upset because all he saw in Stiles' eyes was pure evil.

Scott slowly started moving his hand up, holding the injection, hoping the Nogitsune wouldn't notice. 

"Seriously, Scott?" He asked sounding offended at how could Scott even think he would not know what he is trying to do. "Move and Lydia pays for it." He threatened them.

The Oni held Lydia by her neck, not too much so she could breath, but enough for her not to be able to try anything.

"I am both surprised and impressed at how stupid you are to try to come after me again." The Nogitsune said. "With the same plan. Really." He added mockingly.

The whole time he was looking into Scott's eyes without a flinch.

"You know, my plan was slightly different here, but for you, I am willing to make an exception." He smiled, his eyes lightening up with excitement. "I have something for you," the Nogitsune continued, "something I only wanted to keep for myself, but I just can't resist."

Scott was trying his best not to show how uncomfortable and scared he was. The Nogitsune calmly took the injection out of Scott's hand and dropped it on the floor, Scott unable to oppose.

"Something you will never forget." He finished and buried his hand in Scott's chest, reaching for his heart.

Scott felt a sudden wave of weakness followed by an undescribable amount of pain, as if thousand needles charged with electricity were being pushed into his heart muscle. It only lasted for a split second.

The Nogitsune took his hand out and leaned to Scott. "Or will you?" He added as Scott fell to the ground.

Lydia let out a gasp as she witnessed what happened. The Oni was still holding her and she realised the silver knife was still in her pocket from before. She took it out and instictively shoved it into the shadow behind her, stabbing the Oni's side.

The light blinded her for the last time and she was free to move again, instantly running to Scott lying on the ground, but the Nogitsune got in her way.

"Why are you doing this?" She cried out, not expecting an answer.

"Oh dear, I am only giving back what they deserve." She got one anyway, not knowing why it sounded as if it didn't involve her at all.

"Is he still alive?" She asked for Stiles, her voice shaking.

"Alive?" He asked and smiled, his eyes burning with satisfaction. "Since your little Kitsune friend probably killed his father, he is the brain of this whole operation, honey. Stiles is on my side now." The Nogitsune answered.

She refused to believe any of that, but the part about her best friend, the boy she loved, being so smart, got stuck in her head, because she knew it was nothing but thruth.

The Nogitsune headed out, whispering to Lydia's ear when he passed her. "See you soon."

She run to Scott and checked if his heart was beating. It was, along with his ribcage expanding with every breath he took. He opened his eyes almost immediately and Lydia's eyes watered up, as she was happy he is alive.

"What happened?" Scott asked, sitting up.

"It's okay, we are at Stiles' house, the Nogitsune did something to you, but you will be alright." She said.

Scott seemed confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Lydia felt something wasn't right, but thought it could only be shock or something.

Scott felt good enough to stand up, so they both did.

"Lydia, why are we here? Where is Stiles, is he downstairs with his dad or what?" He asked.

Lydia realised Scott didn't remember anything.


	14. Chapter 14

Lydia took Scott to the hospital under the excuse that they're supposed to meet his mom.

When they got there, she asked for Dr. Deaton. At first, they didn't want to tell her much, but she managed to find out that he is alive and in surgery at the moment, with almost one hundred percent chance of full recovery.

Mrs. McCall appeared from around the corner short after and completely lit up when she saw them both standing there being fine. She run to Scott and hugged him.

"Mom, what the hell, I've been gone like ten minutes and I'm not ten anymore!" He laughed.

Melissa laughed back nervously, not knowing how he could joke like that right now, but went with it.

"I think the three of us should go somewhere private, you should check on Scott I think." Lydia told her, but Scott overheard them.

"Oh c'mon, I only passed out for a second, I must've been dehydrated or something, don't make such a fuss about it!" He got back to Lydia and Melissa understood something was off.

"Come with me." She took them to an empty patient's room.

\---------------------------------

She flashed light into Scott's eyes, his pupils reacting normally. Everything seemed completely fine.

"Do you remember what we were doing in Stiles' house?" She asked him.

"You weren't there, were you? Why would you be there, we were just doing school stuff." Scott replied.

Melissa didn't tell him the truth and didn't want to until she knew how severe his amnesia is.

"Okay," she said, "change into the hospital gown that's on the bed."

"What? Mom, don't overreact, I'm fine!" Scott defended himself as he didn't want to stay there.

"Doctor's orders." She cut him off. "Me and Lydia will go get something to drink." Melissa finished. It sounded weird, but she couldn't think of a better excuse for her and Lydia to leave at the moment, as her head was some place different.

"What happened in the house?" Melissa asked fearfully as soon as they left the room.

Lydia told her everything that went on.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" She then asked nervously.

"I think he's normal." Scott's mom answered, Lydia not understanding.

"What do you mean normal? He can't remember anything." She said.

"His arm. He has a cut on his arm. It didn't heal." Mrs. McCall clarified.

"The cure. What if the Nogitsune somehow passed it to Scott? We need to talk to Dr. Deaton." Lydia said with horror.

\--------------------------------------

Dr. Deaton woke up several hours after the surgery. His shoulder will require long rehabilitation, but he felt fine.

They didn't want to bother him right away, but when they visited him, he asked anyway, because he found it a bit odd that Scott wasn't visiting him too.

"What's going on, Lydia?" Dr. asked.

"We took down all the Onis," she started explaining, "but the Nogitsune got to Scott and I thought he was about to rip Scott's heart out. He didn't, but he must have done something, Scott fell to the ground." She said.

"He is sleeping right now. He has some sort of an amnesia. Also, there is a cut on his arm that didn't heal." Melissa added.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you any more than you already know." He said after a moment of silence. "Altough I think there is a posibility the cure could have worked."

"Is he going to remember?" Lydia asked.

"I have no idea, to be honest." He replied.

"We have to tell him everything, maybe he will remember!" Lydia came up with an idea, but Mrs. McCall strongly disagreed.

"He might never remember."

"Yes, that's why we need to tell him, he can't just lose three years of his life! Everything he went through with his friends. He would have never known Allison." Lydia sadly opposed, not being able to wrap her head around why anyone would disagree.

"He would never have to go through the pain of losing her. He would have a shot at a normal life he deserves." Melissa said.

Those words scared Lydia even more than anyone trying to kill them.

"He is an alpha!" She screamed crying, not wanting to believe they are talking about this.

"Tell her, please!" Lydia hopelessly turned to Dr. Deaton.

"You both have a point, but I think you should think it over." He said simply to both of them.

"What about his best friends? What about Stiles?" Lydia let out desperately.

After a long moment of silence, Melissa stepped in. "Lydia, you see what is happening. Stiles is gone."

Dr. Deaton didn't say anything, which meant he didn't disagree.

\--------------------------------

Lydia went home. She just didn't want to talk to anybody, went straight to her room and laid down on the bed. She wouldn't give up, not on Scott or Stiles and it hurt to see everyone else did. She wasn't going to cry, feeling so empty and tired at the moment she wasn't capable of showing any emotion and after a while she fell asleep.


	15. The End

Lydia woke up in the middle of the night. She couldn't fall back asleep and suddenly wasn't able to stay in bed for another second. She got in her car and just drove. It took her about half an hour before she stopped in the parking lot near a park. Lydia got out of the car and walked to the other side of the meadow, where she always sat down and daydreamed. This time it was a nightmare. 

There was noone there as it was almost 3AM, so she didn't have to care about her appearance or behavior. She heavily sat down on the ground and pulled her knees to her chest. 

Normally she would welcome any company, but this time she needed to think and as she did, she realized there was noone to accompany her anyway. Isaac was gone. Scott didn't remember anything she might need to talk about. Malia was dead. Kira was dead. Stiles wasn't there. 

"No." Lydia whispered. 

She didn't want to admit to herself that Stiles is gone, it just wasn't an option. She knew that now, all she needed to free him was a werewolf as the Nogitsune didn't have the cure anymore. 

It was late, but she decided to try Isaac's phone anyway. No answer, the same as every time they called since he left. She then tried calling Derek, same thing. They didn't even know if he was still alive, but Lydia didn't want to think about anyone else being hurt so she shook this idea out of her head. What she couldn't shake off was what the Nogitsune told her.

"See you soon." She repeated quietly, knowing that it could be anytime. She couldn't pretend that they are going to save Stiles anymore. There was no they, it was only her now. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to kill her best friend either, but knew that he would probably want it. Her Stiles would be scared of death, but he would rather killed himself than let anyone hurt his family and friends. It was time to put an end to both hers and his suffering. 

She sat in the park for another hour, most of the time either crying silenty or just staring into nothing. In her mind, she said goodbye to Stiles and prepared everything she would tell him or the Nogitsune if she saw him.

Lydia got back to her car and drove home. She chose the longer route, clearing her head by stepping on the gas, letting her face get beaten by the wind, which felt right at the moment.

\---------------------

She got home not too long before everyone else would get up. She heard something upstairs. It was probably nothing, but she was already on the edge, so she went to the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife she found. As she was going up the stairs, her breathing got faster. 

She entered her room and slowly closed the door behind her as if it would protect the rest of her family from everything that would happen in there. She wasn't surprised, but still didn't expect someone to be sitting on her bed. She knew it was him. 

Everything she wanted to tell him was gone. She tightened her grip around the massive knife and realized something horrible was about to happen. If he was the one to win this fight, she would be dead and the Nogitsune would probably slaughter her whole family just for the fun of it. If he was the one to get defeated, she would be the one to kill him. It wasn't a bite to take away the evil or some other way to destroy the spirit or a doppelganger and save Stiles, it was a murder. A cold blooded murder of the boy she loved.

Lydia erased these thoughts and took a brave step forward. Now she could see his face clearly, his eyes staring right into her soul. She continued until she stopped right in front of him.

The Nogitsune stood up slowly. They stood there, looking into each other's eyes, not saying anything, until the Nogitsune broke the silence. 

"Lydia." He simply let out, caressing her face gently. It felt evil, but calm in some way. All she needed to do was run the blade in her hand through his body, but she wasn't capable of doing that just yet.

"What do you want?" She asked him, being somewhat more composed than she should be in a situation like this. 

"This isn't about what I want, Lydia. This is about what he wants. He loves you, you know?" The Nogitsune asked, sounding almost nice.

"Is he still inside?" She asked, thinking she might actually get an honest answer even though she is speaking to someone who made her life a living hell for the past few weeks.

"He cares about you more than anything." The Nogitsune answered indirectly. "When I was ripping Malia's heart out," he started recounting with a joy of it all, "he was dying inside. He wanted to rip his own heart into pieces if it would save her, just so his hands couldn't hurt anyone else. But the moment you started screaming and he knew you were there, a wave of relief run trough the whole body. It was almost as if he was glad that it was Malia going down. He would kill anyone over you, Lydia. His own dad, even Scott, everyone in this world." 

Lydia certainly didn't want to hear all that. Her eyes watered as guilt was filling everything in her world at the moment. She was the reason everyone else was gone. The face of the Nogitsune turned into his usual smile, filled with satisfaction from the pain he was causing. 

Lydia didn't know if Stiles really was in there, but she knew he would never say anything like that. Even if he felt that way. She realised she was only falling for another one of the fox's mind games. 

"It's all my fault." She tried to pretend she didn't see through his tricks. She was hoping he would maybe feel sorry enough for her to let Stiles be himself, even if it was just to say good bye. 

"Oh Lydia," the Nogitsune started, "I know you are not that stupid. We can't say that about Scott now, can we?" He laughed at his own joke, watching Lydia's expression turn from hopeful to absolutely disgusted. "Altough, I admire your bravery." He continued in more serious fashion.

She felt more dull than terrified, waiting for whatever he was going to tell her next.

"And Stiles. I don't even had to feed on others from how much pain he was in. And the strife coming after, just delicious." The Nogitsune remembered joyfully. "I have to say, I owe him one, he made my life so much easier. I thought I'd do something nice for him." He finished, getting even closer to Lydia.

With their cheeks almost touching, the Nogitsune put a string of hair out of her face. She felt shivers running down her spine. She was scared, but she didn't move at all.

"Stiles loves you." Was all he said, before he cupped her face and leaned in for a kiss. 

Lydia knew it was about to happen. She also knew it was wrong on any possible level, but did nothing to stop it. She didn't want to stop it. 

As soon as their lips locked, she wanted that moment to never end. She knew this was another game to only make her feel worse, but she didn't care, at that moment she thought it was worth everything. 

Lydia felt his presence. She felt Stiles was still in there. It might have been another trick from the Nogitsune, but this time the joke was on him. She put his hands over Stiles' shoulders, hugged him and put every single drop of passion presented in her body into that kiss. It was the last kiss they would ever share. She focused extremely hard, so she would remember every detail of this moment forever.

When it ended and their lips parted, she knew exactly what to do. She put her chin on his shoulder and whispered into his ear. 

"I'm sorry. I love you forever." She said and aimed the tip of the knife in her hand against his back. 

"I really thought you would understand it doesn't have to come to this, Lydia." The voice whispering to her ear belonged to the Nogitsune now, the slighest trace of Stiles was gone. "You can join me and everyone will be happy." He offered with excitement, already picturing everything what a fox and a banshee would be capable of together.

Everyone except her and Stiles, Lydia thought. "You are killing innocent people." She let out.

"Are they really that innocent?" The Nogitsune said. 

Lydia started thinking about what he said. They kill people too. They are going after the evil, but there are casulties. Are they really that much better than everyone that they can decide who can live and who will die? 

"I know, right?" He asked, crashing Lydia's thoughts. 

Everything was a trick, a lie or a game with the Nogitsune and she knew she had to end it, she knew Stiles wanted it. 

"We are nothing like you." She answered, looking in front of her, feeling his face touching her hair.

"I only see you Lydia. And as we are standing here, with the same intentions, I would say we are exactly the same." He said.

Lydia couldn't listen to any more, holding onto the last memories of Stiles she would ever have. She slowly moved the knife towards her, the Nogitsune standing in between. She stopped, only scratching his skin when tears started streaming down her face. Her hand hurt so much as she was fighting herself. She couldn't push more at the moment, collecting every single feeling of hate and despite she had towards the Nogitsune and the feeling of love she had towards Stiles. For all the hearts the evil spirit ripped out, she now had to run a blade through his. 

The Nogitsune felt the pressure of his skin being torn under the sharp weapon, but it didn't hurt him at all. He didn't do anything but watched Lydia's inner fight with amusement. An unbearable wave of pain being pumped into her veins with every heartbeat made him hungry for more.

"It looks like we have a bit of a problem here." He said mockingly, thinking Lydia would never be able to finish what she started.

With those words, she actually finally gained enough courage. She quickly took the knife out of his back and aimed it right into his heart. Before she could strike, he cought her wrist, seeing she was serious this time. 

His look changed from taunt to evil. "You know Lydia, you may have a little weapon in your hands, but don't forget I am the one with the ability of crushing your bones with my two fingers." He threathened and strengthened his grip around her wrist.

Altought it hurt Lydia, she didn't let go of the knife and wasn't even planning to. She was ready to do anything at this point.

"How could you even think that a bunch of teenagers could take me down? I already told you, you can't kill me." He said, laughing in her face.

Lydia wasn't stronger than him, but realized she just needed to be smarter. 

"We'll see about that." She said as she snapped her wrist, breaking her own bones to get out of his grasp. With a sharp pain flashing through her hand, she let go of the knife, but managed to pick it up quickly with her other hand and take a few steps back away from the Nogitsune.

"You will either kill Stiles, the boy you love or you will die painfully." He stated.

That was the truth. She no longer cared about herself, but was determined not to let anyone else die.

 

"Either way, Lydia, you are definitely going to scream."


End file.
